MCSO: Bear attack investigation finished, no charges

Photo: David Jones

GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. (KKCO/KJCT)-- The Mesa County Sheriff’s Office has finished their investigation into Sunday’s bear attack where a 5-year-old girl was dragged from the back door of her home.

The sheriff’s office said in a press release Tuesday that no charges are being sought in the incident.

MCSO deputies learned the girl went outside at about 2:30 a.m. to check on her dog and sat down by the back door when a bear came from around the front of the house and sniffed her. When she got up to go inside, the bear grabbed her and pulled her out of the doorway, according to the press release.

The girl’s mother heard her screaming, went outside and started screaming at the bear, causing it to drop the girl.

The sheriff’s office said the girl’s father thought she was camping in the backyard when the bear attacked, and that’s what he originally told dispatchers when he called 911. The father later said he was mistaken, after talking to his daughter and learning she went outside to investigate a noise.

The press release also says the girl’s mother said she was inside, then went outside to check on a noise.

MCSO says the parents’ actions in this incident aren’t criminal or negligent, and no charges are being sought.

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